Anyone ever try gorilla glue for deck delam repair?

General Discussion
1

I need to fix small deck delam / soft spot in an old poly board. I have never used GG before but in reading the discussions and applications here on sways I started thinking about using it for the deck delam… good idea / stupid idea?

Using the multiple hole technique. Inject GG into the delam area. Wipe up excess that comes out the holes. Let set, prep and apply normal glass deck patch.

I was thinking that the expanding GG will fill the void and minimize the “dented” look (as if I did the same thing with epoxy and a weight).

Anyone ever put GG into an epoxy syringe? Will it flow nicely enough to fill the void?

Will the expansion of the GG lift the attached glass off of the foam in the adjacent areas?

I can certainly go the epoxy route - but just thinking of alternative methods. Its the thinking part that gets me into trouble…

Thanks in advance for your comments,

yoyo

2

yea it works. you end up with a yellow brown spot under the glass. I would recommend using SUMO glue because it dries white.

Just add alot more weight than you would regularly (the advantage of using an expanding PU in this is that it will end up with the same, or close, density as the foam underneath and will fill any foam voids caused by the glass lifting. it bonds just as good as anything else to the lifted glass)

watch the expansion though, youll end up sanding for an hour if you just let it go.

as far as it lifting more glass… it wont if you dont let it, keep the weight on and wipe off what oozes out.

3

Thanks Holla,

Ill look for that SUMO stuff. The loctite website indicates that it has lower expansion than GG. http://www.sumoglue.com/home.asp

FYI - I think I also heard that GG now is available in an off white color.

I may use a vacuum bag on the repair area instead of weights. Sounds like with expansion I should plan on using less GG or SUMO than a comparable volume of epoxy. Hopefully the vac should draw it through the delam. I will need to figure what to bleed the excess into.

Having never used GG or similar - does anyone know what will happen if you cant pre-wet the areas with water as suggested in the gluing instructions. Does it just take longer to set?

Thanks again

yoyo

4

I’ve got some gorilla glue here. I’d say it had a similar consistency to a runny honey, maybe a bit heavier. That might help you answer the syringe part of the question.

5

You can’t inject foaming urethane glues like GG because it is water activated and you have to really wet one side of whatever you bonding to. You can inject “pour foams” (2 part foaming urethane), but this is really tricky (see www.boardlady.com/injection.htm). Even if you remove the delaminated glass, I wouldn’t recommend Gorilla Glue for bonding it back down (or anything else, since this isn’t a good idea in the first place). When cured, the glue at the bond line where it was clamped and constrained is hard. However what oozes out does not always dry hard. Using it as a filler will probably result in some hard and some soft areas.

The problem with delam’s is smashed down foam and getting it filled back up to the normal level. With poly, the foam itself becomes stratified and will flake away in layers and you need to remove this down to good foam. Unfortunately this sometimes is over 1/2" in depth. For shallow fills on a deck, a solid filler like cabosil isn’t good because it will eventually crack under foot pressure. So, you need a reliable foam filler and either some very heavy glassing over it or a D-cell + cloth layer vacuumed down over it.

The best solution I’ve found is to cut all the glass away and use pour foam followed by thin D-cell + cloth over the whole thing. You may be able to use just D-cell layers + cloth without the foam, if the original foam is intact. Keep in mind that after you fair-in all of this mess, you’ll need to hide it all under a opaque color over-lam or paint.

6
Quote:

Having never used GG or similar - does anyone know what will happen if you cant pre-wet the areas with water as suggested in the gluing instructions. Does it just take longer to set?

when bonding to foam it is not necessary to wet the surface for the glue to bond. Blank makers who use expanding PU glue NEVER introduce water into the foam/wood surface when bonding. That will cause laden water to be left in the finished product that will never dry. (they put that in there as a precaution to people bonding metal, stone, and finished woods)

7

Thanks for the input guys,

Holla - thanks, I was worried that it may not set properly if moisture was not properly applied.

PeteC, thanks – I have done a couple of delam repairs just as you described (2 part foam, qcell slurry, etc) and they worked very well. Im just thinking that with this repair (not too large) that the PU glue may do two things at once – fill the void and adhere the deck to the foam. I may still go back to a normal repair method if my trials with the PU glue put me off.

Took awhile to find a store with SUMO. After calling the typical suspects Lowes said they have some. Im going to get some even if I use it in this repair or not. Ill try some tests first to determine the expansion and viability of injection under the skin.

Thanks again for everyones help,

yoyo

8

I’d take head to PeteC’s suggestions when it comes to repairing boards, he definitely knows his business. I understand the need to learn things for ourselves sometimes but I assumed you were posting that question for a reason… just my 2 cents, good luck.

9

Mahana,

Oh yeah - I totally agree with you and with PeteC comments and wasnt in any way ignoring what he said.

My problem is that I like tinkering and trying different products in different applications - some work well - some dont. But since I have never used PU glue before I threw my thoughts out to the helpfull experts at sways for some feedback.

I havent really decided which way Ill go as of yet - I may stay within my comfort level and go with the tried and true methods.

Since I havent tried PU glue for any application before I will get some and play around with it. Sounds like a nice alternative glue product to have around for a bunch of different uses. I like the idea someone at sways mentioned of using it under vac bagged skins instead of lightweight glass and epoxy.

I learned a ton from sways for this repair http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=360907;search_string=yoyo;#360907 - as an update it has worked great, deck is solid as a rock, board still surfs great (kept it out of a landfill).

Thanks again to all

yoyo

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hey bigshot long time no speak. how was the trip last year, france wasnt it? done any more boards since?

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Hey guys 1st time posting here but, have been a fan for a while now. I’ve been getting some of my old boards togeher to fix and clean up for my 2 boys. I got my 6 yead old out surfing this summer on my long board and he’s hooked and of corse he’s wanting his own board now. I’m getting a smaller version of my 9’2" scaled down just for him but in the meantime I decided to start doing some long and overdue ding repaire on a couple of my boards. My 3 yr old is catching up fast so I need to be ready for when he’s ready to get wet.

I’ve done all my basic ding repaire but have never attemped to do any delam repaire. I’ve got 2 boards and 2 area’s that need repairing and wasn’t quite sure whats the best way to do it. I like the idea of using Sumo glue but I’m still not sure it’s the the best way to go fix it.

I’ve seen a few different ways on Youtube and I’m now i’m just confused on which way to fix this.

Can anyone that has used these ways to fix there delam give me some input on how it turned out and which way was better.

SKS

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SKS,

Im still fairly new to surfing and surfboard repair but I have been playing with boats, fiberglass and epoxy for many years. I have found great help here at sways from the vastly more experienced pros.

I still have not decided on how to repair the board that needs work in this thread. I have removed the glass from the delamed area and did find that I needed to remove a bit of soft beat up foam. I have played around with some white GG in the mean time and although I like it I think I will stay in my comfort level and not use it for this repair. Since I have some high and low spots in the old foam I am leaning towards a divinycell patch vac bagged down, faired and then hand laminated on top with a second glass layer in the shape of a much larger deck patch (hopefully preventing future delams).

Back to your ?? I guess I would base my repair choice on the specific delam. If its small and I caught it early I would likely go with the drilled holes and injection. If a bit larger maybe the peel back, qcell/resin, press down method. A bit larger still - remove the glass from the area, get to good foam and decide on the pour foam or core material (d-cell, core-cell, balsa). The pour foam works but I dont like how porous the stuff is after its skinned and reshaped. The core materials are also much better at handling repeated compression. I usually do the repair that I feel is the most effective and within my capabilities.

yoyo

13

Just an update. I decided to try the white GG under a balsa skin in the delam area. I havent found sumo in the SD area yet.

I removed the delam area in the shape of a rectangle with rounded corners. Smoothed it down to good foam. Since I had some balsa I decided to use it.

I edge glued the balsa planks (1/8" to 3/16" thick) with CA glue and then cut the assembly to shape. Applied GG to the foam and spread it around with a credit card spreader. It was not that easy to spread evenly (so far my only complaint with the process). A quick mist and hard wipe off with a paper towell to the balsa and placed it on top of the foam/glue. Put in the vac bag and gave it a good suck to hold the balsa in place. The GG foamed up a bit along the edges but thats what I was looking for to seal the small gaps between the balsa and old deck. It dried a nice bright white.

Cool thing with the GG is that it was set in < 60 minutes. I would have had to wait about 4 hrs with epoxy. Saved some time and energy not running the vac pump setup for an extra 3 hrs. Pulled it from the bag and immediately shaped, sanded and seal coated the balsa with thinned epoxy. I am now glassing over with 4 oz in a deck patch shape extending past the repair area with epoxy.

So far it seems to work very well. Only time will tell if the GG without glass will stay attached to the foam as well as my other board with the epoxy / glass bond. Im hoping that the GG is just as stong and maybe lighter.

In The Bag - white GG expanding along the edges

4oz lam - waiting for hot/fill coat

White seam between old glass and balsa…

yoyo

14

Due to an injury, I will be out of the water for a few months, so until then, I am just fixing dings in old boards, and without my repair tools and resins due to a recent move, all I have is gorilla glue.  So when I dropped a large box that had boards and other stuff in it and caused a delamination under the fin, I decided to go the gorilla glue route.  I did NOT add water, and I did NOT allow easy air flow.

I am planning to let it sit for at least 48 hours, the outer crust is dry, but I decided to use clamps and I wasn’t sure about gorilla glue under glass, but this thread and others in Swaylocks say it’s ok, other than some discoloration and UV issues down the road.

I’ve even heard of vacuum-bagging.

Well, anyway, a bottle of GG only lasts a year so it should set up and dry.

I simply spread it by pushing on the glass, and I pumped it in by forcing the nozzle under the glass.

Not a typical ding to have the fin strong to the glass but yet delaminated from the foam but not unheard of.  I guess it should work.

 I know this is not the best way to fix it, but it’s an obvious case for simply gluing, rather than breaking it off and starting over.

I may have gone overboard with all the clamps but I hate it when something shifts unexpectedly due to a massive shaking of the house.

I’ll post how it goes.  It’s been about 20 hours setting up.

 

The fin is straight, it’s just one of the support logs is tilted since it’s on cardboard.  Not having my stands anymore I grabbed some logs from a neighbor’s yard.

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I had to pry the bubble-pack and plywood off with a hammer and steel kitchen spatula but the repair is straight, hard, and the fin is probably even stiffer than the other two.

I can add a couple sheets to each fin and then I want some paint and gloss for the older ding repairs.  And some UV protection particularly near the fin.

A lot of work left to do but at least I know hands-on that gorilla glue works for this kind of repair.

Luckily, this board is incredibly light for a 6’9" board.  Until it’s ready, I’ll surf my 6’6" board.

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